I had quite a reaction to Peter’s story last week, so much so that I thought I would look a little more deeply at the questions it raised and specifically at how a life company can afford to pay an intermediary €27,300 for Peter’s business. In so doing, I am touching on just one of the many conflicts of interest that are a feature of the financial services industry.

I came across a case two and a half years ago that crystallised my view that the financial services industry is made up of product sellers acting in their paymasters interests in the first instance. Let me tell you about Peter, who got a 20-minute meeting with a broker about one of the most important decisions in his life. Nothing has changed in my mind since then. Stick with this, it’s a long one today.

You may have noticed the absence of The Sunday Supplement on Sunday morning. We had a technical glitch, so here it is two days later! This week I explain why the stockbroker model for long term investing is flawed. If you have shares, or want to invest in shares, there is a far more fundamental thing you need to do before you open an account with one of the stockbroking firms in Dublin 2.

Have your parents talked about leaving money to your children? Perhaps you’re a (young) grandparent yourself and are thinking about how you might help your grandchildren on their way. This week’s supplement suggests a way to make sure the grandchild benefits more than the taxman. If you have any questions, get in touch with me tomorrow.

Have you ever been on the receiving end of an investment proposal, whether it was at your behest or the banker or broker’s? You’re not alone if you came out of the meeting kicking yourself for not asking all the great questions that were an afterthought.
This morning, I’m giving you an investment checklist; the questions you should get answers to before making a decision about an opportunity.

Did you consider buying AIB shares? Today I’m going to share with you the two most important questions you need to ask when weighing up an investment decision, and neither one of them is ‘What’s the return?’.

This week, in answering the question ‘Is buy-to-let right for you?’, I tell you about my sorry experience with it. Looking back, I can’t understand why I didn’t get proper advice for such a major investment. The good news is you can learn from my mistakes, and maybe even your own.